Our girls are learning to recognize and say how they feel. This seems simple, but it is not for girls who have suffered prolonged trauma before arriving at DOK. They need to be able to recognize how they feel, be able to say it, and then know how to manage those emotions in a healthy way. All of this is part of the TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) training that Carmen is receiving from the Orphanos Foundation. In April, Carmen will need to return to Colombia for the second phase of this training. If you can help with the cost of Carmen’s airline ticket from Bolivia to Colombia, please send a note to [email protected].
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Our youngest is in 1st grade and doing so well! When she first arrived two years ago, she was behind in preschool and kindergarten, but we worked with her and by the end of kindergarten she was at the same level as the rest of her class. She can become a little defiant when it comes to finishing homework when she has a lot to do; so we were surprised when her teacher said she works hard at school, always has a good attitude and behaves very well. Her first trimester grades are in, and she is doing well in every subject! In April 12, 1952, the Organization of American States (OAS) and UNICEF drafted the Declaration of Universal Principles for Children, to protect them from inequality and mistreatment. On this occasion it was agreed that each country should set a date to celebrate their children. Then, in 1955 the Bolivian government, instituted April 12 as "Children's Day". Days before, our girls’ teachers review their rights at school or get homework assignments about them. Then on that day, every school has a celebration and kids are given gift baskets with candy, little toys and snacks.
We wanted to grow more vegetables, but we were a little leery of taking up more of the girls’ outdoor space they use to play. Then a local partner helped us to purchase what we needed to start a vertical vegetable garden! We are now growing tomatoes, broccoli, a ton of lettuce, spinach, celery, and parsley! Some of our girls aren’t so happy about the extra broccoli, but they like that it is much easier to water and care for the garden.With so much time at home, we have more time for our values lessons. This week we worked on active listening skills. With every value lesson they have a Bible verse to memorize. Also the girls have a daily devotional time just before dinner. Sometimes the devotional consists of reading together from their The Purpose Driven Life Devotional for Kids, other times it’s watching a devotional video that they discuss afterwards. Our local church does an online Sunday school for kids that they participate in and the older ones in a teen online Bible study. Our oldest teen, age 16, has always enjoyed styling the other girls hair and has had an interest in becoming a hairstylist. A local partner agreed to cover the cost of a salon school and we enrolled her this month! After high school and lunch she goes two hours a day to Infinity Salon Institute. The first quarter is hairstyles, and she is doing really well! Its our goal, that each girl discovers their talents and abilities and begin training in that area as soon as possible. Emelin, by the time she graduates high school, will have the training she needs to start working in a beauty salon right away! In the past, the girls baked and sold Christmas cakes, but this year, with the help of a board member and volunteer, tried something new. They made a variety of spice blends and tea blends, which are placed in gift bags that they made of newspaper. In the first week, they had an order for 30 gift bags! They worked hard to complete the order, past their bedtime. Looks like this year will be more successful than the last. Part of their earnings will be re-invested next year, they will also go shopping for a new pair of shoes, and they will have a little for their own allowance. Most of the girls who live in our Daughters of the King home, came with so many immoral examples and unhealthy experiences from their past environments. This is why teaching our girls values is a priority. Last month’s value for our princesses was Persistence. The learned that they can keep trying and not give up when they are confronted with a difficult task. We teach our values with activities, illustrations or stories, and with a Bible verse to memorize. Yet, this value was different than the rest, because the end of the month outing was to put it into practice, by climbing a wall! It was great to cheer on each girl when they were just about to give up half way, and see them keep going. This was definitely an unforgettable experience for them! One of our goals at Daughters of the King is to encourage the girls to see their home as a family. This is important for them to feel safe, loved and a sense of a normal life. Our older girls have started looking out for the younger girls and taking on the role of the “big sisters”. Just the other day, we had a smaller bike donated and one of our older girls started teaching a younger one how to ride the bike. It's great to watch them create happy memories together! Turning 12 is a big deal for our girls at Daughters of the King. We celebrated the birthday of one of our girls a few weeks ago. We celebrate every birthday with a party, and several of our local partners and volunteers always join in on the festivities. Turning 12 means bedtime is an hour later, and also going to get their ears pierced. Our birthday girl was quite happy about getting stay up later, and couldn’t wait to start using her new earrings that she got for her birthday! |